Numerous attempts have been made to design various devices having a light source and switch assembly for illuminating enclosed spaces, for example, for illuminating the rear compartment of a motor vehicle upon opening movement of the compartment lid, a reading material for reading in bed, or a toilet seat at night upon lifting the toilet seat cover.
Examples of such devices are described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,428 (Brown) issued Dec. 19, 1995, pertains to a lamp assembly to be mounted to the underside of the hood of a vehicle hood or trunk lid to illuminate a compartment of the vehicle when the hood or trunk lid is raised. The device uses a gravity-actuated switch to make turning the lamp on/off fully automatic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,239 (Cass) issued Feb. 16, 1982 discloses a lamp assembly to be mounted on the trunk lid, which includes the gravity-actuated switch for automatically illuminating the trunk when the trunk lid is elevated.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,992 (Bain) issued Sep. 19, 1972 strives to provide a universal solution for the problem of automatic illumination of any kind of enclosure. It provides a lamp and switch assembly for illuminating an enclosure having an opening closable by a movable member pivotable between an open position and closed position. The preferred embodiment addresses the needs of motor vehicle operators, providing an illumination solution for a rear compartment of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,206,094 (Hobbs) issued Jul. 2, 1940 provides a lamp and a gravity-actuated switch assembly for illuminating a compartment when a closure member is opened, and turn off the source of illumination when the closure member is moved to a closed position. Its preferred embodiment relates to the engine compartment of a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,336,677 (Frey) issued Dec. 14, 1943 addresses automatic illumination of a reading material for reading in bed. It describes a lamp and gravity-actuated switch assembly, normally concealed behind the headboard, for illuminating a book when the lamp is in visible position, and for turning off the source of illumination when the lamp is moved to a concealed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,867 (Martin) issued Sep. 9, 1997 provides a design for automatic illumination of a toilet seat at night. A nightlight is provided that is responsive to movement so that when the toilet seat is lifted up, the light turns on, and when the seat is lowered, the light turns off. The light is turned on/off automatically by means of a tilt-sensitive switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,820 (Choi) issued Feb. 8, 2005 describes a light for a barbecue grill, which has a housing mounted to the lid of the barbecue grill, a light source, power source, a controller and a switch. The switch manipulates illumination of the light source when the lid of the barbecue grill is lifted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,734 (Blotky) issued Jul. 13, 2004 proposes to use the outside surface of various types of containers for displaying images related to the content of the containers. The intent is to turn the containers into advertising vehicles for the product inside of the container. The implementation concentrates on using beverage cans as containers, and light emitting polymer films (LEPF) as a medium for illuminating the surface and displaying images onto. The electronic circuitry is rather sophisticated and includes a microprocessor and various sensors for detecting the opening of the container by a user. Opening of the container is used as a signal to start surface illumination, displaying images and providing other advertising activities, e.g. sound etc.
In spite of the numerous attempts to design various devices for illuminating enclosed spaces, the need still exists for a simple, cost effective and easy-to-manufacture device for illuminating enclosed spaces, the device having additional functionality or utility e.g. carrying information or displaying an insignia, and preferably utilizing a self-contained low-energy power source.